The approach to open water has many psychological implications. For many, diving in nature is a leap into freedom, leaving the artificial confines of the pool and experiencing something a little wild, with a touch of excitement from the sense of challenge and adventure.
Water is water, but the perception of it, and especially the approach to it, changes depending on whether it is a natural lake, an artificial lake or the sea.
From one reality to another, the chemical consistency of the water changes, as do the conditions relating to currents, waves, transparency and the psychological trust one establishes with the element and its context. In addition to the water itself, other factors must be taken into account: wind, sun, sudden cold or heat, currents, trajectories...
All these obstacles and unforeseen events affect the chronometric pace that you have built up in the pool during the winter, but with a little adaptation, the perceived pace, based on the effort sustained, comes close to the trained and expected chrono.
If you are not particularly experienced, you need to invest a little time in getting the right equipment; listen to the suggestions of those with more experience and test for yourself which of these tips best suit your characteristics.
How to set up training?
Tips
As far as training is concerned, if you are not fortunate enough to be followed by a boat, it is important never to be alone, and in the absence of a training partner, always make sure you stay within sight of someone on shore and never stray too far from them.
It is ideal to have a marker buoy, which is inconvenient to tow behind but essential for getting noticed by boats and for holding on to in case of need. It would also be useful to combine the buoy with a swimming cap in a contrasting colour to the environment (red or yellow tones are always good).
3 top workouts
The first suggestion is not to develop excessively long distances with a single pace and under rhythm, but to identify an area delimited by natural (creeks, rocks...) or artificial (buoys, lanes, moored boats...) features and structure the training with a logic similar to what was developed in the pool during the winter.
Workouts can be developed by minutes as well as by distance using the same logic as interval training. Modern watches are able to use GPS technology to then determine the total distance travelled, the average pace and the track developed, as well as a lot of other data that are interesting to analyse and provide answers to curiosities that one did not know one had.
The general structure: do series with changes in rhythm and intensity alternating with open water technique such as swimming a few strokes in style with the head out to find reference points and the right trajectory, alternating with a precise number of strokes with a regular swim with the head in the water and thus checking whether, during the regular swim, the trajectory has changed and in how much time. This allows any compensations to be made.
- As an activation you can play on vertical support (upright position, head out, legs outstretched and together, maintaining buoyancy with the movement of the arms) and short high-intensity strokes and then develop specific trajectory work. For example: 10" vertical hold followed by 10 strong freestyle strokes in hypoxia (breathing as little as possible). Repeat four times.
- Once the four sets have been completed, return easily to the starting line. Then swim 5' consecutive freestyle strokes doing 5 strokes with your head out followed by 10 regular strokes but performed with your eyes closed, using a previously identified unit that is not too long (50 or 100 metres is fine) swim 1 easy, 1 strong, 2 easy, 2 strong, 3 easy and 3 strong strokes
- You can also play on the breathing side: in easy stretches, breathing can take place on the less usual side or can be bilateral, while in sustained stretches keep it on the more congenial side. If there are buoys, you can turn around and go back at each change in intensity. At the end of each set, return to the starting point and repeat.
Mauro Lanzoni, ENDU Channel.
3 allenamenti scaccia-noia per le acque libere - ENDUchannel